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During President Trump's first term, Jeanette Vizguerra became something of a national symbol of resistance to Trump's immigration policies. Fearing the government would deport her because she entered the country illegally, Vizguerra took sanctuary in a church in Colorado. But even from inside, she regularly spoke out for immigrant rights. That was eight years ago, and this week, immigration agents arrested her. NPR's Adrian Florido reports.
ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE: On Monday, Jeanette Vizguerra was on her lunch break at a Denver area Target store when ICE agents moved in. Laura Lichter is her lawyer.
LAURA LICHTER: My client says that when she was arrested, the officer said, we finally got you. And that tells me that there's something more going on here than just profiling middle-aged Mexican women in a target parking lot.
FLORIDO: Vizguerra first came to national attention in 2017. She had been fighting deportation for years. When Donald Trump first took office, she feared she might finally lose that fight and moved into a Denver church. She held a press conference from inside.
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JEANETTE VIZGUERRA: (Through interpreter) Even though it's been eight long years up to this point, I know that this is not the point to give up, and my fight is going to continue.
FLORIDO: Her saga started in 2009, when she was convicted for using a fake Social Security card to get a job as a janitor. An immigration judge ordered her to leave the country, but she didn't, and the Obama administration never prioritized deporting her. She just had to check in with immigration agents regularly. Once Trump took office and she moved into the church, Vizguerra became the public face of what was then being called the new sanctuary movement. NPR spoke with her a few weeks after she moved into the church.
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VIZGUERRA: (Through interpreter) When we make the decision to seek sanctuary, it's because we have the courage to face our situations, to fight our cases, to resist.
FLORIDO: She spoke often to the press, coordinated advocacy and made sure there was always someone available to pick her kids up from school. They lived at home with their dad, and they would regularly visit her in the church basement. Her lawyers were in constant negotiation with immigration officials. She felt safe enough to permanently leave her sanctuary once President Biden took office. But when President Trump returned this January, her lawyers say she thought they might come for her. Monday, they did. Here's her lawyer, Laura Lichter.
LICHTER: It's nearly impossible to take the politics out of a case like this, where the person being targeted by ICE is someone who is an outspoken critic of our immigration laws.
FLORIDO: In a statement to NPR, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said, quote, "Vizguerra is a convicted criminal alien from Mexico who has a final order of deportation issued by a federal immigration judge." Her attorney says she's fighting to prevent Vizguerra's deportation.
LICHTER: Jeanette is entitled to the protections that she's entitled to under the law.
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UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Free Jeanette.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Let her hear you.
UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: (Chanting) Free Jeanette. Free Jeanette.
FLORIDO: On Tuesday night, Vizguerra's family and supporters held a rally outside the Colorado Detention Center where she's being held. Leaders in the state condemned her arrest. Governor Jared Polis said Vizguerra has no history of violence and poses no threat. Denver's mayor, Mike Johnston, called her arrest, quote, "Putin-style persecution of political dissidents." Adrian Florido, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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